How to embed sustainability in decision making

One way to solidly embed sustainability is to make sure it’s a key consideration each and every time your organisation makes a decision. That could be significant charity-wide decisions such as which pension provider to use for your employees or who to sign up as a new web provider. Or it could be the day-to-day decisions that we all make, like whether or not to print a document.

 

 

What is sustainability?

 

There are three pillars of sustainability – economic viability, social equity, and environmental protection (which this article will focus on). Ultimately, sustainability is about planning ahead. The United Nations defines it as: “meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.”

 

 

Why is it important?

 

Taking climate action is the right thing to do. We have a collective responsibility to act now, while we still have a chance of preventing the devastating impact of rising temperatures.

 

As charities we have an even greater responsibility as we also have the opportunity to influence others. We don’t only need to act; we need to lead. People look to charities for guidance, and we can lead by example, showing others how to effectively take action. And that’s for every charity, of every mission – whether that mission is related to the environment, or not.

 

 

Write a sustainability strategy

 

Taking a step back to write a strategy can help to clearly articulate the actions you will take to make your charity sustainable, including objectives to work towards and how you’ll achieve them.

 

You might want to include it as part of an environmental, social and governance (ESG) strategy. We share some guidance for writing an ESG strategy.

 

A sustainability strategy is also a public statement – to staff, volunteers and the public – that you are making your environmental responsibilities central to your work and taking action against climate change.

 

You could also make a public pledge, such as the CharityComms environmental pledge which makes their environmental ambitions and actions crystal clear. 

 

 

Create sustainability representatives

 

Build a team focused on sustainability. For a large charity that could be a central team with specific expertise in the subject. For smaller charities, that might mean having ambassadors who are passionate about the environment and can take on focused training.

 

You could also nominate one of your leadership team to head up the sustainability drive in your organisation. This will help to shape decision making and keep the environment firmly on everyone’s radar. Strong leadership will drive your strategy and build a culture that puts the environment front and centre.

 

 

Incorporate sustainability into every role

 

Getting every team member aligned with sustainability will help to keep it at the front of everyone’s minds and at every stage of decision-making. That could be right from induction – including environmental competencies in job descriptions and person specifications, through to individual and team performance objectives around sustainability targets. 

 

 

Involve trustees

 

For sustainability to be central to the way you work, it needs to be understood and championed at every level of decision making. That includes trustees, who are ultimately responsible for your charity. Involve them when putting together your strategy, and make sure they’re fully informed when it comes to making decisions, such as moving to a more ethical supplier.

 

 

Get HR buy-in

 

HR can play a significant role in influencing your charity to make climate smart decisions, throughout many areas of your organisation. If your charity doesn’t yet have anyone leading on the subject, HR could be the people to bring everyone together in a collective and systematic way.

 

The Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) suggests that you evaluate what action you’re currently taking and what you have planned, focusing on these four questions:

• What environmental sustainability steps does your organisation already have in place?
• What does your organisation do well? How could environmental sustainability be integrated?
• Where are the gaps that could be filled by HR?
• Which other parts of the organisation could HR work with to achieve its environmental sustainability strategy and plans?

You can find out more in the CIPD guide: Embedding Environmental Sustainability in Your Organisation.

 

 

Share ideas and get support

 

Sustainability networks, such as Fit for the Future, can help you to learn, collaborate and share knowledge with other not-for-profits.

 

Fit for Future has over 100 members, all coming together to collaborate on best environmental practice. Finding out how other organisations have gone about embedding sustainability in their policies, culture and decision making, can inspire you to do the same.